Life in a Metro

As the British Deputy High Commissioner's tenure comes to a close, his wife, Jill Beckingham recounts the lessons Mumbai has taught her

As the British Deputy High Commissioner's tenure comes to a close, his wife, Jill Beckingham recounts the lessons Mumbai has taught her

Jill Beckingham, wife of the British Deputy High Commissioner Peter Beckingham, who vacates his post this month end, trades notes on the city they called home for three and a half years. The 63-year-old former school teacher was well known for the charity walks that she had organised starting 2010 to raise money for various non-governmental organisations, including Magic Bus and Apnalaya. She was also a regular at the Willingdon Sports Club, where after teeing off, she would enjoy a plate of chaat. The couple will move to the Caribbean, where Peter will take up the post of governor at the Turks and the Caicos Islands. Read Jill's account of life in Mumbai, told with trademark British humour and plenty of warmth.

A few weeks ago, my daughter, Amy was visiting from Hong Kong and we made a trip to the Crawford Market to buy some ribbons. It was damp, noisy, chaotic, and suddenly, a cow walked to the middle of the road. Amy was on one side of the road, and I on the other. We waved and tried calling out to each other. It was completely mad. Later, she asked me, 'Mum, how are you going to leave all of this?'

If someone had asked me if I would be sad to leave, when we first arrived in Mumbai in January 2010, after spending four and a half wonderful years in Manila, Philippines, I would have said 'no'. Mumbai can be a bit overwhelming. We moved right next to Mr (Mukesh) Ambani's house (throws a glance outside from the window), and down at the bottom of the road, I would see two men have their lunch every day, underneath a flyover. They had nothing. I was struck with the disparity between the most expensive house in the world and people who have nothing, all within 200 yards.

A few days later, I visited the red light district of Kamathipura, accompanied by Neera Nundy, partner and co-founder of Dasra, an NGO that supports other NGOs. I was climbing a ladder to reach the house of one of the women, and Peter happened to call me. He asked where I was and I told him, "I am at the brothel!" He replied, "Things haven't gotten that bad at home, have they?"

I wondered what I could do to help. I had conducted a charity walk in the Philippines, so I retraced the 390-kilometre Dandi march from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to the coastal village of Dandi, for 17 days between November and December 2010. It was hot and dusty, and we walked on rather nasty highways, besides some beautiful country lanes. I managed to raise Rs 75 lakh for various charities, for causes ranging for treatment of leprosy patients to deaf and mute children. The next year, I organised the Footsteps 4 Good, a 10-kilometre charity walk at the Bandra Kurla Complex. The initial plan was to walk from the August Kranti Park to the Gateway, but we were not allowed to walk in South Bombay.